MANILA—The first Filipino-made cube satellite was successfully launched into orbit on Friday in another milestone in the country's space science and technology program.

Secretary Fortunato dela Peña of the Department of Science and Technology said Maya-1, a cube satellite measuring 10-by-10 centimeters, is capable of capturing images of Earth from space.

"It can take maybe photographs of agricultural crops, kung ano ang state nila. Sometimes they will photograph our forest, our rivers, and of course, event settlements and these are important for many agencies, for security purposes," he said.

Maya-1 was constructed by University of the Philippines graduates Joven Javier and Adrian Salces under the Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite Program.

It was first brought to the International Space Station on June 29 through SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS 15, witnessed by students and engineers of the UP Electrical and Electronic Engineering Institute.

"This is another successful day for the deployment of Maya-1. It showcases what UP can do, what the Filipino can do," said UP president Danilo Concepcion.

UP Diliman chancellor Michael Tan added: "Parang kahapon lang since we launched Diwata-1. This is actually our second major achievement in space science and technology."

Maya-1 is the second Filipino-made microsatellite to be launched into the Earth's orbit after the Diwata-1. The DOST aims to launch another microsatellite, Diwata-2, before the year ends.